The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-2/W7, 2017

ISPRS Geospatial Week 2017, 18–22 September 2017, Wuhan, China

ELEVATION-BASED SEA-LEVEL RISE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF

MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES: ARE FREELY-AVAILABLE 30-M DEMS GOOD ENOUGH?
J. R. Santillan a,b*, M. Makinano-Santillana,b

aCaraga Center for Geo-informatics, College of Engineering and Information Technology

bCaraga State University, Butuan City, 8600, Agusan del Norte, Philippines - (jrsantillan, mmsantillan)@carsu.edu.ph

Commission IV, WG IV/3

KEY WORDS: Digital Elevation Model, Vertical Accuracy, Uncertainty, Sea level rise, Vulnerability Assessment, AW3D30,
ASTER GDEM, SRTM DEM, Mindanao, Philippines

ABSTRACT:

We assessed the vertical accuracies and uncertainties of three freely-available global DEMs as inputs to elevation-based sea-level
rise vulnerability assessment of Mindanao, Philippines - an area where above average SLR of 14.7 mm/year was recently found.
These DEMs are the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM, ASTER Global DEM (GDEM Version 2), and ALOS
World 3D-30 (AW3D30). Using 2,076 ground control points, we computed each DEM’s vertical accuracies and uncertainties, and
from these we determined the smallest increment of sea-level rise (SLRImin) that should be considered when using the DEMs for
SLR impact assessment, as well as the Minimum Planning Timeline (TLmin) for an elevation-based SLR assessment. Results of
vertical accuracy assessment revealed Root Mean Square Errors of 9.80 m for ASTER GDEM V2, 5.16 m for SRTM DEM, and
4.32 m for AW3D30. Vertical uncertainties in terms of the Linear Error at 95% Confidence (LE95) were found to be as follows:
19.21 m for ASTER GDEM V2, 10.12 m for SRTM DEM, and 8.47 m for AW3D30. From these, we found that ASTER GDEM2 is
suitable to model SLR increments of at least 38.41 m and it will take 2,613 years for the cumulative water level increase of 14.7
mm/year to reach the minimum SLR increment afforded by this DEM. For the SRTM DEM, SLRImin and TLmin were computed as
20.24 m and 1,377 years, respectively. For the AW3D30, SLRImin and TLmin were computed as 16.92 m and 1,151 years,
respectively. These results suggest that the readily available global DEMs' suitability for mapping coastal inundations due to SLR in
our study area is limited by their low vertical accuracies and high uncertainties. All the three DEMs do not have the necessary
accuracy and minimum uncertainties that will make them suitable for mapping inundations of Mindanao at smaller increments of
SLR (e.g., SLR ≤ 5m). Hence, users who apply any of these DEMs for SLR impact assessment at SLRIs lower than the DEM’s
SLRImin must be cautious in reporting the areas of SLR vulnerable zones. Reporting the inundated areas as a range instead of a
singular value for a given SLR scenario can highlight the inherent accuracy and uncertainty of the DEM used in the assessment.

1. INTRODUCTION DEMs with considerably higher (better than or equal to 1 m)

Rising sea levels associated with global climate change has
prompted the need for assessing the vulnerability of coastal
regions to inundation. To facilitate this kind of assessment
Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are widely used. One
common practice is to use a DEM as input to a single-value
surface model or bathtub model to map inundation from SLR
using only the two variables: the inundation level and the
ground elevation (Schmid et al., 2014). In this model, the DEM
is the source for the ground elevation while the inundation
levels are based on SLR projections. The approach is
straightforward by simply “raising the water level” on a DEM
to map and assess the vulnerability of land and its
corresponding resources (Gesch, 2013).
Recent studies (e.g., Gesch, 2009; Gesch, 2013; Schmid, et al.,
2014; Leon et al., 2014) have shown that to properly model
potential impacts of SLR the vertical accuracies and
uncertainties of the DEMs must be well quantified and
understood. Assessments that do not account for these factors
may not present a complete picture of potential inundation, and
the results may not be reliable (Gesch, 2009).
spatial resolution from LiDAR surveys can provide better
accuracy in SLR assessments (Gesch, 2009; Cooper et al., 2013;
Antonioli et al., 2017). However, the availability of these
elevation datasets are scarce in developing countries such that
Global DEMs like the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM) DEM and the ASTER Global DEM (GDEM V2),
including the recently released ALOS World 3D-30 (AW3D30)
are often used.
In the Philippines, SLR is one of the major threats of global
climate change that is currently being experienced. A recent
study conducted by Rietbroek et al. (2016) indicated that a well
above average SLR is found regionally near Mindanao,
Philippines. The said study which utilized Gravity Recovery
And Climate Experiment (GRACE) gravity observations and
sea-level anomalies from altimetry data estimated an annual
SLR of 14.7 ± 4.39 mm/year, which is the highest among 23
coastal regions included in the said study. At this rate, it can be
estimated that by the year 2100 (or 84 years since 2016) the
accumulated SLR will reach approximately 1.23 m. Given the
annual SLR rate and the accumulated SLR, it is very crucial to
identify those coastal zones in Mindanao that can get inundated
in the years to come. But with the unavailability of highly
detailed, complete and accurate elevation data (e.g., from

* Corresponding author

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 The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-2/W7, 2017
ISPRS Geospatial Week 2017, 18–22 September 2017, Wuhan, China
LiDAR) for Mindanao, it cannot be avoided that freely-
available 30-m global DEMs like SRTM DEM, ASTER GDEM
and AW3D30 are being used to conduct SLR impact
assessments. To ensure that these DEMs are used appropriately
for such purpose, there is a need to conduct vertical accuracy
and uncertainty assessments.
In this work, we assessed the vertical accuracies and
uncertainties of the SRTM, ASTER and ALOS DEMs as inputs
to elevation-based SLR assessment. The effects of different
orders of accuracy of reference elevation data (ground control
points) used in the analysis to the computed uncertainties are
also presented.
The study area covers the whole of Mindanao Island in southern
Philippines (Figure 1). It has an approximate area of 94,090
km2 and coastline length of 4,283 km based on a GIS analysis
of the country boundary data extracted from the Global
Administrative Areas (GADM) database version 2.0
(www.gadm.org).
To our knowledge, this paper is the first to report the vertical
uncertainties of these specific DEMs covering Mindanao,
Philippines for SLR assessment purposes.
Figure 1. Map showing the location of Mindanao Island,
Philippines and the provinces within.
2. METHODS AND MATERIALS
2.1 Determining a DEM’s Vertical Uncertainty using the
Gesch (2013) Approach
Gesch (2013) demonstrated how to take a DEM's vertical
uncertainty into consideration in elevation-based SLR
vulnerability analysis by quantifying two specific parameters
namely, the Minimum Sea Level Rise Increment (SLRImin; also
referred to as SLR Interval) and the planning horizon which the
author referred to as the Minimum Planning Timeline or TLmin.
According to Gesch (2009), a DEM-based SLR assessment can
use small intervals of water-level change as long as the DEM’s
vertical accuracy truly support these intervals, i.e., the intervals
must be within the bounds of the statistical uncertainty of the
elevation data. This minimum interval, SLRImin, can be
determined using the equation (Gesch, 2013):
This contribution has been peer-reviewed.
https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W7-543-2017 | © Authors 2017. CC BY 4.0 License.
SLRImin = 2*LE95 (1)
where LE95 refers to the linear (vertical) error at 95%
confidence of the DEM. LE95, according to Gesch (2009), is a
commonly used metric for expressing the vertical accuracy of
elevation data, and is an implementation of the U.S. National
Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA). LE95 basically
informs the users the linear uncertainty of a certain elevation
data, i.e., “the true or theoretical location of the point falls
within +/- of that linear uncertainty value 95% of the time”
(Gesh, 2013; FGCC, 1998). The use of LE95 for computing
SLRImin is based on the requirement that elevation data for SLR
impact assessment should be at least as twice as accurate (at the
95% confidence level) as the modelled increment of water-level
change (Gesch, 2013; Gesch et al., 2009). LE95 can be
computed by multiplying 1.96 to the DEM’s vertical Root
Mean Square Error (RMSEz), i.e., LE95 = 1.96*RMSEz such
that minimum interval is simply computed as:
SLRImin = 3.92*RMSEz (2)
Using Gesch (2013)’s notation,
RMSEz = sqrt[Ʃ(zdata I – zcheck I)2/n] (3)
where zdata I is the DEM elevation of the Ith check point, zcheck I is
the true (ground) elevation of the Ith check point, n is the
number of points being checked, and I is an integer from 1 to n.
The TLmin, on the other hand, can be estimated as (Gesch, 2013):
TLmin = SLRImin / Annual SLR Rate (4)
The above equation can be expressed in terms of RMSEz as:
TLmin = (3.92*RMSEz) /Annual SLR Rate (5)
Given the annual SLR rate and a DEM’s RMSEz, TLmin would
provide the user of that DEM the number of years for the
cumulative water-level increase to reach the minimum sea-level
rise increment (SLRImin) afforded by the elevation data (Gesch,
2013).
Similar to Gesch (2013)’s illustration, a DEM with RMSEz of
38.3 cm would allow modeling of only 1.5 m or more of SLR.
Using an increment smaller than 1.5 m, according to Gesch
(2013) “will give questionable results as the increment will not
be within the bounds of the statistical uncertainty of the given
elevation data”. Assuming the annual SLR rate is 10 mm/year,
TLmin can be estimated as 150 years which means that it will
take 150 years for the cumulative water-level to reach the
minimum SLR interval afforded by the elevation data.
2.2 30-m Global DEMs Used
The AW3D30 Version 1 DEM tiles of Mindanao (Figure 2)
were downloaded from
http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/ALOS/en/aw3d30/. These tiles were
generated using stereo images acquired by the Panchromatic
Remote Sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM)
sensor onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)
from 2006 through 2011(Takaku et al., 2014).
Each tile of the DEM was provided in two types: AVE and
MED according to the method used when resampling from the
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5-meter mesh version (AVE = average; MED = median). For Vertical accuracies of the three DEMs were assessed by
this study, we used the AVE tiles. All the tiles were mosaicked comparing the DEM elevations with those of the GCPs. Two
and saved in GeoTIFF format using Global Mapper software, types of assessments was conducted. The first assessment
and reprojected from WGS 1984 geographic coordinates system considered all the GCPs regardless of the order of their
to Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 51 projection (retaining accuracy, while the second assessment look into the effects of
WGS 1984 as its horizontal datum) using ArcGIS 9.3 software. the different orders of accuracy of the GCP on the computed
The elevation values in the AW3D30 are considered “height DEM vertical accuracies and uncertainties.
above sea level” with the Earth Gravitational Model 1996
(EGM96) as the vertical datum (JAXA, 2017). Missing data due
to cloud cover is evident in the AW3D30 DEM Version 1
(shown as white gaps in Figure 2). However, in the most recent
version (Version 1.1; March 2017), these gaps or voids have
been complemented by existing DEMs.

The SRTM-30m (Version 3) and ASTER GDEM2 (Figure 2)

were both downloaded from LP DAAC Global Data Explorer
(http://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/), in GeoTIFF format with
Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 51 (UTM51) projection
and the World Geodetic System (WGS) 1984 as horizontal
datum. Both DEMs have the EGM96 as vertical datum. Raw
data used in the generation of the SRTM DEM was collected
between February 11-22, 2000 (US Geological Survey, 2015)
while the ASTER GDEM2 was generated using images
acquired by the ASTER sensor from the year 2000 onwards
(Japan Space Systems, 2015).

2.3 Ground Control Points Dataset

We used a total of 2,076 ground control points (GCPs) in our

vertical accuracy and uncertainty analysis (Figure 3; Table 1).
These GCPs are part of the Philippines’ Geodetic Control
Network established using Global Navigation Satellite System
(GNSS) equipment and techniques, and are maintained by the
National Mapping and Resource Information Authority
(NAMRIA). The GCP data we used in this study was
downloaded from
http://www.geodeticengineer.org.ph/geodetic-control-points/.
These GCPs were established using Global Navigation Satellite
System (GNSS) equipment and techniques between the years
1990 and 2009 throughout the Philippines with varying orders
of accuracy (1st to 4th order). The order of accuracy is
determined by minimum GNSS observation and other
requirements as specified in the Revised Manual of Land
Surveying Regulations in the Philippines (DENR, 1998). As the
order number increases, the horizontal and the vertical accuracy
of a GCP decreases.

The said GCP data is considered appropriate for use in the

analysis since the years when these GCPs were established
nearly coincides with the years when the raw data used in the
production of the three global DEMs were acquired (i.e.,
February 2000 for SRTM DEM, year 2000 onwards for ASTER
GDEM2, and year 2006-2011 onwards for AW3D30).

Each GCP has WGS 1984 latitude, longitude, and ellipsoidal

height. Ellipsoidal heights (h) of the GCPs were converted to
EGM96 elevations (or orthometric height, H) using the formula:

H=h–N (6)

where N is the geoidal undulation. N for each GCP was

computed using the NGA F477 program available at
http://earth-
info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/gravitymod/egm96/egm96.html. Figure 2. The three DEMs of Mindanao Island, Philippines.

2.4 Vertical Accuracy and Uncertainty Assessment

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ISPRS Geospatial Week 2017, 18–22 September 2017, Wuhan, China
The DEM elevations at each point were extracted using ArcGIS
9.3 software. The differences in elevation, which are the
measured errors in the DEMs, were computed by subtracting
the GCP elevation from its corresponding DEM elevations.
Positive errors represent locations where the DEM was above
the GCP elevation, and negative errors occur at locations where
the DEM was below the control point elevation. From these
measured errors, the mean error and RMSEz for each DEM
were calculated. The mean error (or bias) indicates if a DEM
has an overall vertical offset (either positive or negative) from
the true ground level (Gesch et al., 2012).
The values of LE95, SLRImin and TLmin were then computed
from the RMSEz of each DEM.
Figure 3. Map showing the ground control points (GCPs) used
in the vertical accuracy and uncertainty assessment.
GCP Accuracy Order No. of GCPs
1st 57
2nd 299
3rd 590
4th 1,130
Total 2,076
Table 1. Number of GCPs according to order of accuracy.
2.5 Coastal Inundation Mapping Considering the DEM’s
Vertical Uncertainties
For this work, we are interested in finding how much of the
land area of Mindanao Island is vulnerable to the effects of SLR
by the year 2100, both with and without consideration of the
DEMs' vertical uncertainties.
Assuming that the annual rate is at 14.7 mm/year, the
cumulative SLR since 2016 will be at 1.23 m by 2100. Without
consideration of vertical uncertainty, the assessment can be
done by simply finding all those areas in the DEM whose
elevations are less than or equal to 1.23 m using a GIS software.
To account for the vertical uncertainty inherent in each DEM,
we used the 95% confidence interval (LE95) as a measure of
uncertainty and we applied this to the modelled sea-level rise
projected onto the land surface covered by each DEM. As
demonstrated by Gesch (2013), two delineations can be made:
one identifying all areas at or below an elevation [1.23 m +
LE95]; and one identifying all areas at or below [1.23 m -
LE95]. This means that the interval 1.23 m ± LE95 defines the
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maximum and minimum elevation of areas that can be affected
by a SLR of 1.23 m at 95% confidence level.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Vertical Accuracies of the DEMs Using All GCPs
The calculated errors of the DEMs plotted with the EGM96
elevation of all the GCPs are shown in Figure 4, while the
summary of computed error statistics are listed in Table 2. The
error plots indicates that there is no clear relationship between
the calculated errors and elevation for all DEMs. Another
observation is that there is no preference for positive or
negative errors as the plotted DEM errors are uniformly
distributed on both sides of the zero error axis. This finding is
similar to that of Gesch et al. (2012) in their vertical accuracy
assessment of ASTER GDEM2.
Among the three DEMs, AW3D30 is the most accurate having
exhibited the lowest RMSEz while ASTER GDEM2 exhibited
the highest RMSEz making it the least accurate (Table 2).
The computed 4.32 m RMSEz of AW3D30 is within the
expected vertical accuracy of the ALOS World 3D which is 5 m.
In fact, the result is comparable to that of Tadono et al. (2016)
where they obtained an RMSEz of 4.40 for the same version of
AW3D30 using 5,121 GCPs located in Japan and other parts of
the world. On the other hand, the RMSEz computed in this
study is slightly higher than the RMSE computed by Takaku et
al (2014) in their preliminary assessment of the 5-m version of
the DEM where they calculated an RMSEz of 3.94 based on 122
GCPs. An assessment conducted by Santillan and Makinano-
Santillan (2016) for AW3D30 covering Northeastern Mindanao,
Philippines revealed an RMSEz of 5.68 m which is higher than
the one computed in the current study. The reason for this is
that Santillan and Makinano-Santillan (2016) used Mean Sea
Level (MSL) as the vertical datum of their GCPs, which is
approximately above EGM96.
The results for the SRTM-30m shows that its accuracy is better
than the expected RMSE of 9.73 m (Mukul et al., 2017).
For the ASTER GDEM2, the computed RMSEz of 9.80 m is
comparable to that of Athmania and Achour (2014) when they
conducted external validation of the DEM in northeastern
Algeria and obtained a similar RMSE value; and to that of
Gesch et al. (2012) where they computed an RMSEz of 8.68
based on the comparison of the DEM with more than 18,000
independent reference ground control points located in the
conterminous US.
3.2 Vertical Uncertainties of the DEMs Using All GCPs
Table 3 summarizes the results of the vertical uncertainty
assessment of the three DEMs using all the GCPs. AW3D30
has the least LE95 (8.47 m) followed by SRTM-30m DEM
(10.12) and ASTER GDEM2 which has the highest LE95
(19.21 m). These values simply mean that among the three
DEMs, AW3D30 has the least uncertainty while ASTER
GDEM has the highest uncertainty in their elevation values.
From these, we found that ASTER GDEM2 can adequately
model SLR increments of at least 38.41 m and it will take 2,613
years for the cumulative water level increase of 14.7 mm/year
to reach the minimum SLR increment afforded by this DEM.
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For the SRTM DEM, SLRImin and TLmin were computed as

20.24 m and 1,377 years, respectively. For the AW3D30, DEM Min. Max. Mean Error RMSEz
SLRImin and TLmin were computed as 16.92 m and 1,151 years, Error Error Error Standard
respectively. These results suggest that the readily available Deviation
global DEMs' suitability for mapping coastal inundations due to AW3D30 -11.78 13.23 3.00 3.11 4.32
SLR in our study area is limited by their low vertical accuracies ASTER -32.87 33.24 2.63 9.44 9.80
and high uncertainties. GDEM2
SRTM- -15.48 15.29 3.13 4.11 5.16
Users who apply any of these DEMs for SLR impact 30m
assessment at SLRIs lower than the DEM’s SLRImin must be Table 2. Error statistics (in meters) generated from the vertical
cautious in reporting the areas of SLR vulnerable zones. As accuracy assessment of the DEMs using 2,076 ground control
summarized in Tables 4 and 5, and illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, points. All values are in meters
mapping potential inundations due to SLR of 1.23 m requires
not only mapping areas whose elevations are equal to or below
1.23 m. If an SRTM-30 m DEM will be used, it is necessary to DEM RMSE LE95 SLRImin TLmin
map all areas whose elevation ranges from -8.89 m up to 11.36 (m.) (m.) (m.) (years)
m. Doing so would incorporate the inherent vertical uncertainty AW3D30 4.32 8.47 16.92 1,151
of this DEM. Without considering this DEM’s uncertainty, the ASTER 9.80 19.21 38.41 2,613
total inundated areas will only amount to 150 km2 which may GDEM2
be unreliable and may not provide a complete picture of SRTM-30m 5.16 10.12 20.24 1,377
potential inundation. If uncertainties are considered, this DEM
Table 3. Computed values of parameters related to the vertical
can provide users a range of potential inundated areas, e.g.,
uncertainties of the DEMs based on the use of all GCPs. TLmin
from 0 to 4,198 km2.
was computed assuming an annual SLR rate of 14.7 mm/year.

DEM Minimum Maximum

Uncertainty Level Uncertainty Level
at 95% Confidence at 95% Confidence
(1.23 m - LE95) (1.23 m + LE95)
AW3D30 -7.22 9.69
ASTER GDEM2 -17.97 20.44
SRTM-30m -8.89 11.36
Table 4. Minimum and maximum uncertainty levels for
mapping potential inundation for an accumulated SLR of 1.23
m for the year 2100. Values are based on the use of all GCPs in
vertical uncertainty analysis. All values are elevation in meters
referred from EGM96 datum.

DEM Vulnerable Minimum Extent Maximum Extent

area: of Vulnerable of Vulnerable
≤ 1.23 m area: area:
(not ≤ 1.23 m ≤ 1.23 m elevation
considering elevation at 95% at 95% confidence
vertical confidence (considering
uncertainty) (considering vertical
vertical uncertainty: 1.23
uncertainty: 1.23 + LE95)
– LE95)
AW3D30 * * *
ASTER 84 0 7,348
GDEM2
SRTM- 150 0 4,198
30m
Table 5. The area (in km2) vulnerable to 1.23 m SLR, both with
and without consideration of vertical uncertainty. (*Areas were
not computed for AW3D30 since the DEM contained voids)

Figure 4. DEM errors plotted versus elevation using all the

2,076 ground control points.

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3.3 Effects of GCP's Order of Accuracy on the Vertical

Accuracies and Uncertainties of the DEMs

The effects of using GCPs that are of different orders of

accuracies are illustrated in Figure 7 and summarized in Tables
6 to 8.

For all DEMs, using first order GCPs appears to result to

smaller mean errors when compared to using 2nd, 3rd or 4th
order GCPs. However, the mean errors resulting from the use of
either 2nd, 3rd or 4th order GCPs appears to be of little
difference.

The effects of using different GCP orders appears to have

minimal effect on the RMSEs (and consequently on the (LE95,
SLRImin and TLmin) of AW3D30 and SRTM-30m. However,
this observation is not true for ASTER GDEM2 where the
RMSE and other measures of vertical uncertainties appears to
decrease as the GCP order of accuracy increases. These
findings may imply that results and conclusions obtained from
vertical accuracy and uncertainty assessments of ASTER
GDEM2 is dependent on the order of accuracy of GCPs used
but not for AW3D30 and SRTM-30m. However, further
investigation is needed to quantify and explain these findings.

Figure 5. Map of inundations due to SLR of 1.23 using ASTER

GDEM2 with and without considerations of vertical
uncertainties computed using all GCPs.

Figure 6. Map of inundations due to SLR of 1.23 using SRTM

30-m DEM with and without considerations of vertical
uncertainties computed using all GCPs. Figure 7. Effects of GCP order accuracy to the vertical
accuracies and uncertainties of the DEMs.

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GCP Mean RMSE LE95 SLRImin TLmin ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Accuracy Error (m.) (m.) (m.) (years)
Order (m.) This work is one of the extended R&D activities of the Geo-
1st 0.17 3.93 7.71 15.41 1,049 SAFER Mindanao (“Geo-informatics for the Systematic
2nd 2.55 3.89 7.62 15.24 1,037 Assessment of Flood Effects and Risks for a Resilient
3rd 3.16 4.32 8.47 16.94 1,152 Mindanao”), a research program supported and funded by the
4th 3.17 4.44 8.70 17.39 1,183 Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging
All GCPs 3.00 4.32 8.47 16.92 1,151 Technology Research and Development of the Department of
Science and Technology (PCIEERD DOST). We gratefully
Table 6. Values of parameters related to the vertical
acknowledge PCIEERD DOST for the financial support, as well
uncertainties of the AW3D30 computed based on the order of
as the Philippines’ National Mapping and Resource Information
GCP accuracy.
Authority (NAMRIA) and the Geodetic Engineers of the
Philippines Incorporated (GEPI) for giving us access to the
ground control points dataset used in this work. ASTER GDEM
GCP Mean RMSE LE95 SLRImin TLmin
is a product of METI and NASA. ALOS World 3D 30 original
Accuracy Error (m.) (m.) (m.) (years)
data was provided by JAXA. We would like to thank the
Order (m.)
anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and
1st -2.20 11.88 23.28 46.56 3,167
suggestions.
2nd 2.65 10.60 20.77 41.55 2,826
3rd 2.72 9.76 19.14 38.27 2,603
4th 2.83 9.48 18.57 37.15 2,527 REFERENCES
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1st -0.93 5.23 10.25 20.50 1,394 ASTER GDEM2, GMTED2010 and CGIAR-CSI-SRTM v4. 1
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3rd 2.90 4.87 9.55 19.10 1,299 Algeria. Remote Sensing, 6(5), pp. 4600-4620.
4th 3.63 5.36 10.51 21.02 1,430
All GCPs 3.13 5.16 10.12 20.24 1,377 Cooper, H.M., Fletcher, C.H., Chen, Q., Barbee, M.M., 2013.
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4. CONCLUSIONS
We have presented an assessment of the vertical accuracies and
uncertainties of three 30-m resolution global DEMs covering
Mindanao Island, Philippines using an approach previously
presented by Gesch (2013). Two specific parameters namely,
the Minimum Sea Level Rise Increment (SLRImin) and
Minimum Planning Timeline or TLmin were quantified which
allowed us to take into consideration each DEM's vertical
uncertainty in elevation-based SLR vulnerability analysis. The
effects of different orders of accuracy of GCPs used in the
analysis to the computed uncertainties were also presented.
Based on the results, it is concluded all the three DEMs
considered in this study do not have the necessary accuracy and
minimum uncertainties that will make them suitable for
mapping inundations of Mindanao at smaller increments of SLR
(e.g., SLR ≤ 5m). However, in the absence of highly accurate
and more detailed elevation data (e.g., from LiDAR), these
DEMs may be utilized as long as the uncertainties are taken
into consideration, and that the end users are informed
accordingly of these limitations. Reporting the inundated areas
as a range instead of a singular value for a given SLR scenario
can highlight the inherent accuracy and uncertainty of the
DEMs used in the assessment.
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